Inflatable building



March 7, 1967 T. JACOBSOHN ETAL INFLATABLE BUILDING Filed April 20, 1965 WWW v ZOCbmm M 49.5mm mmkzwu fol moIuz 02m A tained within the structure itself.

United States Patent 3,307,301 INFLATABLE BUILDING Theodt/rre Jacobsohn, Spring Valley, Bertram Julien, New York, Hans Meyer, White Plains, and Kurt Meyer, Riverdale, N.Y., assignors to Air-Tech Industries, Inc, New Rochelle, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 449,545 Claims. (Cl. 52-2) The present invention relates to inflatable buildings, and, more particularly, to such buildings which include a framework of spaced arches formed by inflated tubes and a sheet of material covering this framework to provide a weather-proof shell.

In buildings of this type, the covering material is normally secured to the arches in some manner and extends across the spaces between adjacent arches. The weight of the material spanning from one arch to the next tends to cause the material to sag and pull the arches inwardly toward each other. It has been necessary therefore, in prior buildings of this type, to provide guy wires at the ends of the building to hold the arches upright against the force exerted by the weight of the material spanning the spaces between the arches and also to tension the fabric to eliminate the sagging and flapping.

In the past, the necessity for having these end guy wires has prevented inflatable buildings from being used for certain applications where they would otherwise be very desirable.

For example, there has long been a need for a portable, easily erected aircraft hangar. However, for such a structure to be of significant value it must be capable of being erected with an open (or openable) end abutting the apron of the runway. In such an application, it is highly undesirable to extend guy wires out onto the apron because they create a hazard to taxiing aircraft.

In addition, there are applications where an inflated structure could be advantageously used if it could be mounted on wheels, tracks or floats so that it could be readily moved to provide a temporary shelter over a portion of a large object which is diificult to maneuver. For example, if such a structure could be mounted on wheels it could be rolled into place to cover the wing of a large aircraft while repairs were in progress, or if it could be mounted on floats it could be readily used to cover a portion of a ship or submarine at its mooring. The previously known shelters which require external guy wires cannot be used for such applications since there is no way in which the guy wire could be provided without restricting the mobility of the structure.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide self supported inflated building which does not normally require external bracing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a building wherein the covering material is tensioned and the arches are supported only by means con- Another object is to provide such a building wherein one or both ends of the building may be completely opened without reducing the rigidity of the building.

Another object is to provide such a building wherein the entire end of the building can be quickly and easily opened and closed by mechanical means.

A further object is to provide such a building which is simple, practical and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a building in accordance with the present invention a portion of the center section being broken away.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a portion of the building of FIG. 1 illustrating a detail thereof.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an end closure section shown in FIG. 1 illustrating an arrangement for opening a closure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 on FIG. 1 illustrating another detail.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a longitudinal sectional view of an inflatable building resting on a surface 10 which generally includes a first end anchor section 11, a second end anchor section 12, a center section 14, a first end closure section 15, and a second end closure section 16.

The first and second end anchor sections 11 and 12 each include three inflated hoses 17 bent to form an outer end arch 19, an inner end arch 20, and an intermediate arch 21, a fabric cover 22 extending over the arches, a flexible steel cable 24 under tension positioned in a pocket 25 (FIG. 4) sewn into the cover 22, and a plurality of telescoping braces 26.

The hoses 17 each are provided with an inflation valve (not shown), and an end fitting 27 is provided at each end of the hoses. The end fittings 27 are pinned or otherwise fastened to the surface 10 to maintain the hoses in their arched condition, and, the arches are strapped or otherwise fastened to the cover 22 to maintain the cover in place.

The cable 24, as shown in FIG. 2, extends in substantially a catenary curve from the lower edge of the cover 22 adjacent one end of the arch 1?, up one side of the section past the arch 21 to the top of the building adjacent the center of the arch 20, and down the other side of the section back past the arch 21 to the other lower edge of the cover 22 adjacent the other end of the arch 19. A catenary curve is the arched shape assumed by a hanging chain or heavy cord (of uniform weight) which is suspended at both ends. The ends of the cable 24 are secured to pins or the like fastened to the surface 10.

The braces 26 have curved end plates 29 and 30 for engaging the walls of thelhoses 17 and have telescoping leg members 31 and 32 attached to the end plates and provided with a locking device (not shown) to hold the legs in their extended position. Although only one brace 26 is shown (at each side) between the arches 19 and 21 and between the arches 21 and 20, it is to be understood that any required number of braces may be used.

The center section 14 includes a fabric cover 34 fastened to the ends of the fabric covers 22 of the end anchor sections 11 and 12. This center section may be of any desired length, and, except for extremely short sections, is preferably provided with spaced inflated arches similar in all respects to the arches 19, 20, and 21 of the end anchor sections.

The building is transported to the erection site in a folded condition with the hoses 17 deflated. To erect the building, it is spread out over the surface 10 and all of the end fittings 27 are pinned in place. The fabric cover 34 of the center section is attached at each end of the covers 22 of the end sections and the covers 22 and 34 are strapped or otherwise attached to the hoses 17. The hoses 17 are then inflated and temporary guy wires are attached to the arches 19 to erect the building. The braces 26 are next put in place and the cables 24 are tensioned and secured to the surface 10.

The tensioned cables 24 exert a pull on the cover 34 of 3 the center section 14 to bring it into a taut condition While the braces 26 hold the arches 20 and 19 upright to tension the covers 22. The building will therefore stand Without any external guy wire bracing, although such bracing should be available for reinforcement in case of high winds.

In order to provide closures for the otherwise open ends of the building, the end closure sections 15 and 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 can be used. These sections each include three (or more) arches 35, 36, and 37 formed of inflatable hoses 17 each provided with a pivoting end fitting 39 at each end thereof. The end closure sections further include a fabric cover 40 in the shape of a quarter of a sphere. Each of the arches 35, 36 and 37 are strapped or otherwise attached to the cover 40 and the upright end of each of the covers 44) is attached by any suitable means to the end of the adjacent cover 22 of the end anchor section.

The closure sections are raised to the position in which the closure section 16 is shown and lowered to the position in which the closure section 15 is shown by means of a cable 1, a plurality of pulleys 42 mounted on the arches 35, 36, 3'7, and 19, and a winch 44. The winch 44 can be secured to the ground as shown or may be secured to one of the arches of the end anchor sections 11 and 12.

To open the closure section 15, the winch 44 is operated to draw in both ends of the cable 41. In the first stage of this operation, the arch 35 pivots on its end fitting and moves up to the arch 36 as the cable 41 is shortened. The pulley arrangement shown provides multiple lifting points on the arch 35 to prevent sagging. When the arch 35 abuts the arch 36, further shortening of the cable 41 causes the arch 36 to also move and when the arch 36 abuts the arch 37 the latter is likewise moved until the three arches assume the generally upright position in which the end closure 16 is shown.

To close the closure section 16, the winch is operated in the reverse direction, and, as the cable 41 lengthens, the arches are lowered to the position in which the end closure 15 is shown.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple, practical, and inexpensive self supporting inflated building wherein the covering material is tensioned and the arches are supported only by means contained within the structure itself so that one or both of the ends of the building may be completely opened Without reducing the rigidity of the building and wherein the opening and closing of an entire end of the building may be easily accomplished by mechanical means.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In an inflated building formed of a framework of arched inflated hoses adapted to withstand high internal pressure and a sheet of material extending over said framework to form the outer skin of the building, the combination of first and second end sections each including a plurality of spaced hoses and a covering of material extending between said hoses and secured thereto; a central section including a covering of material extending between said end sections and attached to said end sections; tensioning cable means connected between the innermost and an outer hose of each of said end sections and tensioned to exert a force on said innermost hoses for longitudinally tensioning said covering material ot said central section, said cable means being sewn into said covering material of each end section and extending in a catenary shaped path from adjacent one end of said outer hose thereof to adjacent the center of said innermost hose thereof and back to the other end of said outer hose; and bracing means between said hoses in each of said end sections for tensioning said covering material of said end sections, whereby said building is free standing.

2. In an inflated building formed of a framework of arched inflated hoses adapted to Withstand high internal pressure and a sheet of material extending over said framework to form the outer skin of the building, the combination of first and second end sections each including a plurality of spaced hoses and a covering of material extending between said hoses; a central section including a covering of material extending between said end sections and attached to said end sections; tensioning means solely within said end sections for tensioning said covering material of said central section; bracing means between said hoses in each of said end sections for tensioning said covering material of said end sections whereby said building is free standing; and an end closure adjacent one of said end sections comprising a plurality of arched hoses each having first and section ends; means for pivotally securing said first hose ends adjacent each other, means for pivotally securing said second hose ends adjacent each other, a covering of material generally in the shape of a quarter of a sphere when extended, said covering of said end closure being attached to the outer edge of the covering of said one of said end sections and extending over said hoses of said end closure, said end closure hoses being attached to said end closure covering such that said end closure hoses are disposed at progressively greater angles with respect to the vertical when said end closure covering is in its extended condition, and means for pivoting said end closure arches toward a vertical position for opening said closure.

3. A structure according to claim 2, wherein one of said end closure hoses is attached to said end closure cove-ring at an edge thereof to assume a horizontal position when said covering is extended to place said closure in the closed condition.

4. A structure according to claim 2, wherein said means for pivoting said end closure arches includes which means, cable guide means secured to each of said end closure hoses and to one of said end section hoses, and closure operating cable means extending from said winch means through said guide means and having an end adjacent to said one of said end section hoses so that said end closure hoses are progressively drawn toward a vertical position when said end of said cable is pulled.

5. A structure according to claim 4 wherein said end closure hoses include an end hose and an adjacent inner hose, and a plurality of spaced pulleys are provided on each of said end hose and said adjacent inner hose, and a pair of spaced pulleys are provided on said one of said end section hoses, said closure operating cable means extending through one of said pulleys on said end section hose and alternately through said inner hose pulleys to provide multiple lifting points on said end hose and said end hose pulleys and through the other pulley on said end section hose.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,636,457 4/1953 Finlay et al 522 2,849,011 8/1958 Bird 52--2 2,955,606 10/1960 Walker 522 3,240,217 3/1966 Bird et al. 52-2 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

A. I. BREIER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN INFLATED BUILDING FORMED OF A FRAMEWORK OF ARCHED INFLATED HOSES ADAPTED TO WITHSTAND HIGH INTERNAL PRESSURE AND A SHEET OF MATERIAL EXTENDING OVER SAID FRAMEWORK TO FORM THE OUTER SKIN OF THE BUILDING, THE COMBINATION OF FIRST AND SECOND END SECTIONS EACH INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED HOSES AND A COVERING OF MATERIAL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID HOSES AND SECURED THERETO; A CENTRAL SECTION INCLUDING A COVERING OF MATERIAL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID END SECTIONS AND ATTACHED TO SAID END SECTIONS; TENSIONING CABLE MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN THE INNERMOST AND AN OUTER HOSE OF EACH OF SAID END SECTIONS AND TENSIONED TO EXERT A FORCE ON SAID INNERMOST HOSES FOR LONGITUDINALLY TENSIONING SAID COVERING MATERIAL OF SAID CENTRAL SECTION, SAID CABLE MEANS BEING SEWN INTO SAID COVERING MATERIAL OF EACH END SECTION AND EXTENDING IN A CATENARY SHAPED PATH FROM ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID OUTER HOSE THEREOF TO ADJACENT THE CENTER OF SAID INNERMOST HOSE THEREOF AND BACK TO THE OTHER END OF SAID OUTER HOSE; AND BRACING MEANS BETWEEN SAID HOSES IN EACH OF SAID END SECTIONS FOR TENSIONING SAID COVERING MATERIAL OF SAID END SECTIONS, WHEREBY SAID BUILDING IS FREE STANDING. 